Begin Your Holiday Festivities by Cutting your Own Christmas Tree

By Bette Erickson

Maybe it’s the warm, vanilla scent of pine, or perhaps it’s the love and labor required, but there’s really nothing like a snowy trudge in the forest to find the perfect Christmas tree.

Whether it’s a longstanding family tradition, or something you’re considering for the first time – Have you given any thought to harvesting your own Christmas tree from the forest this year?

Broomfield resident Stephen Katsirubas said he and his three daughters have made choosing just the right tree, cutting it down, and bringing it home a tradition.

He enjoys being outdoors with his girls and having fun, including all the laughs they have while doing it, he said.

Jim Admire agreed. “When the kids were younger, we would get a Forest Service tree cutting permit and cut down a tree the day after Thanksgiving every year,” he wrote to me via Nextdoor.com. “Lots of fun memories.” While his kids are now grown, he said he and his wife, Mary Ann, are looking forward to grandchildren someday to go with on the Christmas Tree hunt.

If harvesting your own Christmas tree this year sounds appealing, keep in mind these guidelines:

• Do not cut in or near developed recreation areas, such as a campground or picnic area, or near any residential areas

• Do not cut in wilderness areas, special protection areas, experimental forest or anywhere else that is marked as “No Cutting”

• Tree trunk size must be six inches or less in diameter (strictly enforced)

• Cut tree six inches or less from the ground

• No topping of trees

• No cutting trees within 75 feet of any road, trail, and all bodies of water

• Avoid cutting trees marked with blue paint

• Handsaws required (chainsaws prohibited)

• Permits must be visible on the tree for easy viewing or visible on your dash

• You cannot cut holiday trees on the Boulder or Clear Creek Ranger Districts

Broomfield’s Admire family with Smokey Bear on a Christmas tree-cutting expedition several years ago in the Buffalo Creek area, a part of the South Platte Ranger District. Pictured are Jim and Mary Ann with their children Maggie, Colton, Grace, and Bridget. Courtesy photo

Broomfield’s Stephen Katsirubas finds the perfect tree last year in the Roosevelt National Forest. He said he and his daughters make it a yearly tradition to harvest their own holiday tree.

Keep in mind, due to impacts from wildfires, there have been numerous changes to the availability of holiday tree cutting opportunities.

Find your adventure. Be safe and be mindful of backcountry ethics. Anything is possible on an earth that creates for itself such a fabulous landscape of forests, lakes, and mountains.

Bette Erickson writes about people, places, and events. Contact her at bette_erickson@hotmail.com.

To secure an Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests Christmas Tree Permit, visit: www. recreation.gov/tree-permits. Christmas Tree permits went on sale Thursday, November 9. The cost is $20 per tree with a maximum of five trees. To avoid crowds, schedule your tree-cutting adventure on a weekday. For visitor information call 970-295-6600.